{"id":4141,"date":"2012-04-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvusa\/2012\/04\/16\/elizabeth-guider-reports-from-nab-opening-day\/"},"modified":"2012-04-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-04-16T00:00:00","slug":"elizabeth-guider-reports-from-nab-opening-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvusa\/elizabeth-guider-reports-from-nab-opening-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Guider Reports from NAB: Opening Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS: With tantalizing, if still tentative, signs of economic recovery Stateside, the annual NAB confab is banking on a renewed sense of confidence—and a solidifying of business prospects—during the next four days of technological wizardry, panel discussions and deal-making.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The far-ranging event, whose theme this year is "The Great Content Shift," is arguably the largest media and entertainment trade show in the U.S. It runs through Thursday at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

"We have what everyone wants—airwaves, content and a local connection—and broadcasting is once again a robust business." So said NAB president-CEO Gordon Smith during opening remarks in Las Vegas Monday morning. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In his third year at the helm of the trade org, Smith put the accent on just how fundamental to consumers’ needs and responsive to their tastes TV and radio still are, however much technology evolves, how ever many competitors clamor for pieces of broadcast’s pie. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Smith pointed out that the industry’s biggest challenge is not the FCC or cable-satellite providers or wireless carriers but rather broadcasters’ own ability to look around the corner and seize the moment, aggressively adopting technologies and applications that will enhance consumers’ experience. Ubiquity, for one thing, Smith said, now means that broadcasters should aim to embrace platforms that make their content more readily available, anytime, anywhere. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Still, as Smith was quick to remind the 1,000-odd attendees at the session, the stats suggest that traditional media is more than holding its own against much hyped newcomers: 240 million listen to radio every week, by far the number one source of news for consumers, while 46 million viewers in the country rely exclusively on over-the-air television. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

"It is after all our signals that viewers want the most. People depend on our access to local programming," he went on, assuring the assembled that the trade org would use "every tool to protect listeners and viewers" as it carries the industry’s message to politicos in DC and relays through social media. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Smith also described how organic, and global, the event has become since its inception back in 1923. (Foreign delegations this go-round, for example, include Egypt, Peru, Ghana and Poland as well as first-timers Latvia, Chad, Nepal and Pakistan.) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In very deliberate, measured tones, he  described the battles in Washington in which the organization is currently involved, most notably the skirmishes to wrest spectrum away from broadcasters by the telecommunications industry.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, Smith, a former Republican senator from Oregon, and his team have been pushing DC on the continuation of must-carry and retransmission consent, whereby local TV stations either get carried on pay platforms or get paid a far market price for their programming and for the installation, and activation of radio capability in cell phones.   <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Emceeing the opening event at the Las Vegas Hotel was Desperate Housewives<\/em> star Teri Hatcher, who said she was particularly impressed with all the new gadgets on display: "As a ‘Desperate Housewife’ I can be in your pocket—and you don’t have to pay—at least I don’t think so!"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hatcher’s series is currently shooting its final episode and she took time out to attend her first NAB.  <\/p>\n

During the hour, Freakonomics<\/em> author Steven Dubner delivered the guest keynote, rifting on his central economic theme of "incentives"—how people get what they need and want, even as other people go after the same thing. For what regards the media industry, Dubner argued amusingly on how fraught with peril making predictions is. "It’s a fool’s game and often technology creates opportunities that we have no way of anticipating." <\/p>\n

Also during the opening session the 134-year-old E.W. Scripps Company, which operates 19 TV stations and owns 13 newspapers, was presented with NAB’s Distinguished Service Award. Scripps president and CEO Rich Boehne accepted the accolade on behalf of the company. He emphasized that even nowadays it is "enterprise journalism" which is the sine qua noon of local broadcasting. "That’s what matters the most," Boehne said.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Among the big draws on the entertainment content front this week: film director James Cameron will talk about the secrets of the 3D conversion of Titanic<\/em>; Warner Bros. Television Group’s chairman, Bruce Rosenblum, will opine on how the Hollywood majors are confronting digital challenges; Turner Broadcasting System International’s Gerhard Zeiler will provide his take on how Europe’s media industry is handling the Continent’s roiling tides; and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos will describe what’s next for so-called media "disruptors" like his own company.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The four-day extravaganza will see some 90,000 attendees take to the cavernous halls and meeting rooms of Sin City’s main trade show venue. They’ll variously check out the exhibition of new gizmos and gadgets vying to improve or enhance the production or distribution of all things audiovisual or otherwise augment the enjoyment of content, including its availability and deployment on newfangled devices of all sorts. Others will assist at panel discussions, Q&As, workshops and super sessions with top players in various fields.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

"The NAB Show is truly a global event, with the level of international participation now phenomenal—with more than a third of the show’s attendees traveling from outside the United States," said NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton. "Almost 400 of the 1,600 exhibiting companies are based outside the U.S."<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Like other trade shows—including MIPTV, MIPCOM, NATPE and NCTA—the scope of NAB has expanded over the last decade in light of the
\nproliferation of multiplatform distribution and consumer demand for content anytime, anywhere, on any platform. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Among this year’s new attractions on the floor are a so-called Start-Up Loft, a showcase for new companies, and the Content Market, a
\ncentral place to unite programming executives with digital-distribution platforms. In addition, a new Cloud Computing Pavilion will offer the latest in cloud applications and storage options.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This go-round, NAB is fielding 200 first-time exhibitors, which is indicative of the organic nature of the show and of the fact that financial investment in new-media ventures is once again picking up.   <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As for the TV station business in the U.S., which is, after all, the central historical constituency of the NAB show as well as the heart of the country’s TV experience, there is something of a lilt in the step of broadcasters these days. Admittedly, the economic downturn that started in 2007 has taken a heavy toll on station revenues, but with the overall economy in uptick, executives are feeling a bit more pumped. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Not only are car ads back on the small screen, but political advertising leading up to the national election in November will provide a sizeable bonanza for both TV and radio stations, especially in battleground states.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And despite the ubiquitous and incessant hype about video on new-media platforms, it is broadcast television that still reaches the largest audiences, both locally and nationwide. Ninety-five of the top 100 most-watched TV shows are found on broadcast television every week. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And local TV remains Americans’ top choice for their source of news, and there is now more local news on broadcast television than any time in history. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Such should make all the technological advances on display in Vegas a little easier to contemplate and a little less discombobulating. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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